Have an Innovative Idea in Data, Irrigation, and/or Farming? Rockefeller Wants to Hear It

The Rockefeller Foundation has launched the 2012 Innovation Challenges to source innovative ideas that will have the potential to create long-term impact. The Innovation Challenges, which run through May 25, expect to gather ideas from around the globe in three issue areas: data, irrigation, and farming. As The Rockefeller Foundation marks its centennial, the search has begun for innovative ideas that will solve problems for the next 100 years.

Fifteen finalists, five in each category, will be selected by a distinguished panel of judges and recognized at the 2012 Innovation Forum on June 28. They may be invited to collaborate with The Rockefeller Foundation as it builds the Global Engagement Network, a network of problem solvers focused on key global problems. As many as nine out of 15 finalists will be selected by the Foundation to apply for up to $100,000 in grant support to further develop or implement their ideas.

The Rockefeller Foundation looks to attract global changemakers whose ideas could lead to new services, tools, and choices in the following three issue areas:

DECODING DATA: Ideas that create better ways to address urban challenges through the application of data.

IRRIGATING EFFICIENCY: Ideas that help reduce barriers—such as lack of investment, incentives, or political will and capacity—to implementing and scaling agricultural water use efficiency.

FARMING NOW: Ideas that encourage and help young farmers to become more productive, more resilient, and more profitable by addressing cultural perceptions, economic conditions, and/or climate change.

On Wednesday (May 2) from 9:00 a.m. EST/13:00 GMT to 4:00 p.m. EST/20:00 GMT, The Rockefeller Foundation will host a #RF100 Twitter Conference focused on these three issue areas.

All innovators, practitioners, students, experts, journalists, activists, content-creators, communicators, and anyone else interested in these issues are encouraged to participate.

#RF100 Twitter Conference Agenda

9 a.m. EST/13:00 GMT — Conference Opening Session9:30 a.m. EST/13:30 GMT — Farming Now: How will we encourage and support young people to enter and stay in farming?11:30 a.m. EST/15:30 GMT — Irrigating Efficiency: How will we improve or scale agricultural water use?1:30 p.m. EST/17:30 GMT — Decoding Data: How will we use data to create change that improves the quality of life of poor or vulnerable communities in cities?3:30 p.m. EST/19:30 GMT — Conference Closing Session

How to participate?

1. Log on to Twitter 2. Follow @RockefellerFdn and the Conference MC @ContextPartners for tweets and updates related to the chat. 3. During the chat use search.twitter.com or an application like Tweetdeck or TweetChat to follow the #RF100 hashtag and keep up with the conversation. 4. Enter the discussion anytime by tagging your tweets with #RF100. 5. Here is the shortcut to the Twitter Conference room: http://tweetchat.com/room/rf100